The UK and Welsh Governments are launching an Independent Commission into the water sector and its regulation, in what is expected to form the largest review of the industry since privatisation.

A new report from Oceana UK published today is warning that the true extent of oil pollution, which has devastating impacts on marine life, has been masked by an opaque and misleading reporting system.

Severn Trent has agreed an Enforcement Undertaking (EU) with the Environment Agency and paid Gloucestershire Wildlife Trust £327,500 after an investigation which revealed that raw sewage from a blocked sewer had been discharged into a brook near Gloucester - impacting about 1.7km of the watercourse.

The Environment Agency has accepted an Enforcement Undertaking (EU) from Reckitt Benckiser (UK) Ltd to address a breach of environmental legislation following a trade effluent leak which led to the death of almost 400 fish.

South West Water has now completed a temporary repair to a burst sewer pipe at its Maer Road pumping station which resulted in raw sewage spilling into the sea off Exmouth beach from its Maer rocks Combined Sewer Overflow.

The Government has announced a rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) to be completed by the end of the year to deliver its legally binding targets to save nature.

The Environment Agency has today published its annual report on the environmental performance of England’s nine water and sewerage companies during 2023 – the data show that the majority of companies continue to underperform.

Ivo Textiles have been ordered to pay over £71,000 for disposing of materials, heavy metals and ammonia down the sewers over the past four years in West London.

In what is thought to be the worst offence of its kind in Devon and Cornwall, Christopher Garrett has been jailed for 32 months after he dumped thousands of tonnes of waste, including asbestos, on land by his home, in a floodplain near Kingsteignton in Devon.

BAM is gearing up to tackle the historical pollution on the Lynemouth coast, with the final stages of preparation work now well underway.